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CEP STATEMENT ON PROBATION VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
Explanatory note:
The General Assembly of CEP asked the CEP Board to articulate a collective
vision and set of basic values that would be shared by all members. This
statement aims to set out the vision and values of CEP and is presented for
debate at the 2010 General Assembly for adoption.
We believe that this statement will be useful for our work in the European Union
and with the Council of Europe. New and developing probation services may also
find it helpful.
We are grateful for comments from Professor Rob Canton on this paper, from his
position as an advisor to the Council for Penological Co-operation, Council of
Europe on the new Probation Rules for Europe. We have aimed for consistency
with these rules and other guidance from the Council.
Extensive consultation has taken place with members, who gave thoughtful and
valuable feedback and the board has formally discussed drafts of this paper on
two occasions. We have tried to find the common ground between European
Probation Services, reflecting the core elements which bind us together.
Introduction
Probation works with offenders in the community to protect the public and to
reduce offending. The Probation Services across Europe work with offenders in
the community, on court orders, through community sanctions and measures, or
on release from custody. Probation work has its roots in voluntary and religious
organisations working with offenders over two hundred years ago. It is now a
major force within the criminal justice system, offering a range of communitybased options to the courts, with skilled and professional staff. It also supports
and seeks to rehabilitate and resettle those from penal institutions who are
being reintegrated back into the community. Probation agencies are
distinguished by their emphasis on assistance, guidance and persuasion in
working with offenders.
Society has a duty to protect the vulnerable, including those who may be victims
of crime. In some jurisdictions, probation agencies offer services to victims of
crime. Probation staff members work with people who are in the main from the
most disadvantaged and socially excluded groups in society, who themselves
have frequently been victims of crime as well as perpetrators. Some of them
pose a significant risk to themselves and to others which must be managed very
carefully in the community. However we believe that in principle people are able
to change their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. Probation
gives them that chance to change. The harm caused by offenders to victims and
communities should be acknowledged by them and further harm reduced by
effective sanctions. Offenders are encouraged to make reparation for this harm.
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Probation stands for the following beliefs and values:
1.
Probation works towards rehabilitation through working with offenders to
help and encourage them to lead law-abiding lives. This includes creating
opportunities for offenders, helping them to acquire the skills they need to
make good use of these opportunities and motivating them to do so.
2.
Probation services play an essential role in contributing to a reduction in
the prison population. Community sanctions and measures are appropriate
for many people who are now in prison or remand centres and in many
cases community intervention would be both fairer and more effective.
3.
Social inclusion is a requirement of social justice and a key guiding principle
in probation practice. Since people who do not have fair and reasonable
access to the services and institutions of civil society (social exclusion) are
more likely to offend, probation’s commitment to social inclusion also helps
to reduce offending. Motivation, the opportunity to make reparation and
positive citizenship experiences for offenders can achieve better results
than simply punishment and blame alone.
4.
Probation services must work in close partnership with the agencies of civil
society and individual volunteers, to increase offenders’ social inclusion. Coordinated and complementary inter-agency work is required for meeting
the complex needs of offenders.
5.
Each person is unique and their differences are to be respected and valued.
Probation services shall ensure that in all their work they respect the
diversity of those who use their services and challenge all unfair
discrimination. To ensure that everyone is dealt with well and fairly,
services must take full account of individual circumstances and needs.
6.
All probation practices must respect the interests and rights of victims of
crime, as well as working with offenders to make them aware of the harm
that they have caused. Offenders should be held accountable for the hurt
they have caused victims and their families through the sentences of the
court. Probation services should develop and support development of
restorative justice programs and elements in their judicial practice.
7.
Some offenders pose significant risks to the public, but this risk can often
be managed and reduced through co-coordinated inter-agency public
protection arrangements. Although probation and the police often lead
these arrangements, for effectiveness they must be able to call on the skills
and willing commitment of a range of relevant agencies.
8.
One important measure of society is how offenders are treated. Since
sanctions administered by probation services are imposed as a
consequence of an offence, they constitute a form of penalty and involve a
limitation of the rights of offenders. Any restrictions on offenders’ rights
must be justifiable either as a retributive penalty or as a requirement of
public protection. In accordance with the European Convention on Human
Rights, restrictions on offenders’ rights must not exceed what is
proportionate to the seriousness of the offence or what is necessary to
protect the public from a real risk of substantial harm. The concept of
proportionality should also extend to mandatory conditions of community
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sanctions and measures and to interventions through specific work
programmes to effect change.
9.
Probation aims to be a reliable and credible sanction in the eyes of the
judiciary and the public. The aspects of control which are built into
community sanctions and measures are therefore an important visible
demonstration of the consequences of the offence. Supervision should aim
to combine assistance and control, appropriate to the individual case and
risk profile. Probation can build on the positive aspects, aspirations and
strengths of individuals who have offended. Research suggests that building
on strengths is particularly effective in achieving desistance.
10. Where probation works with defendants before conviction, any intervention
must take place with their consent and shall be without prejudice to their
right to be presumed innocent. Probation staff need to ensure that there
are no conflicts of interest which may affect any subsequent court
proceedings.
11. High quality assessments and advice to the judiciary are central to effective
interventions with offenders. These assessments must be objective and not
meant to serve as mitigation documents. Their prime purpose is to inform
the judiciary and accurately offer a professional opinion of the offender.
12. National law shall specify the agencies that provide probation and aftercare
to offenders, their duties and responsibilities and their relationship with the
authorities and other agencies.
13. Work with offenders by probation services should involve research-based
methods which have demonstrated effectiveness. Probation Services have a
professional duty to contribute to the advancement and dissemination of
knowledge about the delivery and effectiveness of the services they
administer. The delivery of effective services is supported by being carried
well qualified and appropriately skilled staff to carry out probation work.
14. Probation agencies shall be accountable to, and take instruction from, the
appropriate authorities and shall be subject to monitoring and inspection.
In specific cases, they shall give account to the judiciary or other criminal
justice agencies under whose authority they undertake their work.
15. Probation services shall be accorded an appropriate standing as one of the
main criminal justice agencies, with due recognition of their expertise, and
shall be adequately resourced. Probation staff members need to be well
trained, developed and supported to achieve successful outcomes.
16. Probation agencies shall explain their work and its significance to the
public, to criminal justice and to other agencies. Their policies and practices
must be open and must command the confidence and trust of the
community. They should be willing to continuously improve.
17. Users of the services of probation must have access to a clear and impartial
procedure for investigating any complaints.
18. Probation agencies throughout Europe and wider afield should seek both to
work collaboratively and wherever possible to support legislation and
practice that achieves this aim.
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